Piano in the Dark (7 page)

Her directions were perfect, even down to which parking spots would be vacant at this time of day.

My hand trembled as I buzzed Ava’s unit. I was here an hour later than I’d promised. But my doubts had scored a fleeting victory. Tried to stay away, but couldn’t. A foolish man driven by something beyond his understanding. A fresh breeze kicked up, rustling the leaves on the full oaks that dotted the sidewalk in front of her townhome. I adjusted my tie that felt more like a noose.

“It’s open,” she replied over the speaker without even asking who it was.

“It’s me, by the way. Don’t want you thinking it’s some killer or something,” I joked, more for my benefit. A loser’s levity.

“I know,” she said softly, her mad sexy voice reverberating through the intercom. “And if it wasn’t you, I would prefer not to live anyway. Now…come on up.” Her words chilled me. Blind, undiluted passion for me evident in every sweet syllable. Perhaps Jacobi’s suggestion that I check her closets for shrines wasn’t far off course.

I crossed the threshold of her home onto the deep-stained cherrywood floor; noticed the soft candlelight and calming piano music next. Could imagine returning here from a hard day’s work in another life, perhaps. As my apprehension eased, I smiled at her, trying to ignore the seductive atmosphere. Ava seemed perturbed by my lack of punctuality, but handed me a glass of wine anyway. I held the non-stemmed tumbler, moving the white wine in tight circles before putting it to my nose. I took a sip, recognizing the familiar dry texture on my tongue as Gewürztraminer, a particular favorite of mine among the German wines. Another in a string of way too many coincidences with this woman. What was next? A fresh new pack of my favorite underwear atop her bed?

She closed the door, standing between me and any sure means of escape. Taking another sip, I took in her magnificence. Ava wore her tresses pinned back, dazzling diamond earrings hanging from her lobes. The short, black silk asymmetric dress gorgeously accentuated her frame while revealing a single bare shoulder. She drank of her wine and cut her eyes at me as though I were wounded prey. Damn seductive. Felt like I needed to smoke a cigarette just from my thoughts.

“Wow,” I said, raising my glass in a toast. I took a few discreet breaths, to try to maintain my composure, but could feel my heart revving unrestrained.

“The wine? You’re lucky I kept it chilled,” she teased.

“I was referring to it…and you. And I apologize for being late, but I have to ask you something.” Had to focus just to get it out, but was glad I did.

“Ah, yes. The infamous question you’ve been dying to ask.” She swirled her wine around this time, grinning as she looked into her glass, then back at me. “I’m all ears.”

“Did my wife put you up to this?”

“Excuse me?” she replied, disgusted. Apparently not the question she was expecting. Score one for my surprising her. “I don’t even know this woman. Are you kettled?”

“
Kettled
? I’m lost.”

“Um…drunk,” she explained. “Sorry. Some of the words here are different.”

“Here? You mean in Houston?”

Ava chuckled, but some hint of anger at herself due to that strange phrase was still evident. Odd. “Yes. I was living somewhere else before arriving here,” she replied with another strange choice of words. “And some of those habits are hard to shake. Forgive me.”

“No big deal. But I still need to know. Do you know my wife?” I asked.

“No,” she said with a slight flare of her nostrils. Animosity was there, but was it from my question or the mention of Dawn? I watched her chest rise. Could tell her heart was racing too.

“You say you went to Sam Houston State with me. Well, so did my wife. Dawn Henderson was her maiden name,” I pushed on as she came closer. Watched her lick her lips while trying not to lick mine.

“I never heard of her, Chase. And truth be told, don’t particularly care to know about her at the moment. I’m here for you, baby. Just you. No games.” With that said, she downed the remainder of her wine and placed her tumbler on the table beside her.

I stared at her in silence for a moment. Debating if, despite my believing her, whether I should simply walk away. But could I? “No games?” I asked.

“No games,” she said, walking into my grasp. “I just want you to tell me you want me…tell me you need me.” I placed my free hand on her ass, pulling her closer. As we came together, I inhaled. Coconut was in the air again, intoxicating me more than the glass in hand ever could. I never knew I liked this smell so much until I met Ava.

“I want you. I need you. I do, I do. Gawd, you smell so good,” I said, my lips grazing hers. She wouldn’t be disappearing down the street or into the night this time.

“If you like the smell, wait ’til you get a taste,” she said, giving herself up to me. “Taste me, Chase. Please. Taste every part of me.”

She pried the wineglass away from me, allowing me to fully grope her ass. I slid my hands under the silk, firmly squeezing her roundness as if each cheek were a stress ball. With each grip, she gasped. I blew into Ava’s ear as she bit at my shoulder through my shirt.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she mouthed.

“I am, though,” I said, exhilarated and stunned by the turn of events leading to this moment.

I dropped to my knees, lifting the short front of her dress and exposing her inviting thong. She shuddered as I plunged my face between her legs, pheromones guiding me to her pussy as if it were a beacon for my unleashed lust. As I moved her thong aside, tickling her clit with my tongue, her body squirmed and shimmied.

“Yes! Yes! Chase, oh you’re sooo good. Mmmm,” Ava gushed as she came for me. The newness of it all was driving me crazy, making me a frenzied fool. I stood back up and lifted her off her feet, biting and sucking on her neck as we spun round and round. Despite being caught up in the moment, I lowered her back down to the floor. Tried to find my moral true north amidst a swirling sea of desire.

“I—I’m married, Ava. My wife—” I offered in a labored breath, closing my eyes as I tried in vain to picture Dawn. The bulge in my slacks was noticeable. Probably had been from when I first came in the door. I felt her hand as she began to stroke me. She tugged on my zipper, her deft fingers masterfully coaxing my dick free with ease. As it tumbled from my pants, it was my turn to groan and beg.

“I’m your wife tonight,” she whispered breathlessly before kissing me. As our lips touched and tongues joined, I knew I’d lost—lost before I’d even pressed that buzzer. Lost when I felt the crackle of electricity beneath a streetlight.

And by the noose around my neck, she led me to her bedroom where she continued to show me what a wife can do.

Ava lay atop me, sweet sticky sweat clinging between us as I held onto her waist. She gave me the tip of her tongue, teasing me as it darted in and out of my open mouth. When I caught it, I gently sucked, our passion intermingling. Somehow she found the energy for another session, working her hips up and down, moaning as I filled her yet again. She reared up, giving her breasts to me, which I grasped and began to lather with kisses, swollen nipples hardening against my eager lips.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as I nipped at her. Her intensity picked up as she came again and again, her intoxicating moistness enveloping me. As she rode me toward another gusher, I looked into her eyes, having been assured that her tears were those of joy. I rolled her onto her back, knocking sheets aside as I proceeded to quicken my pace and take charge of this maddening ride. She dug her nails into my back, gasping as I thrust deeper inside her honey-coated walls. I throbbed and bobbed to her rhythm, surprised by how two unfamiliar bodies could be in sync with one another. Fascinating.

“You—you’re—damn!” I blurted out as sweat dripped from me, the monster deep in my loins threatening to burst free.

“Oooh. I’ve missed you so much, my love,” she uttered with delight.

I gasped, startled out my groove by her comment. But she urged me to continue, her hips swaying and surging upward as if a tsunami wave threatening to overwhelm me.

“Don’t stop. Please,” she said, her eyes desperately pleading for more of what I had to bestow. I became lost in those damned eyes. And the monster in my loins growled again. I resumed my motion, giving in to it. Letting the beast take control of me. Living at that moment as if I were her lover. Ava nodded, her eyes meeting mine as I surged. She wrapped her legs around me, preventing any escape from her unyielding love.

“I—I’m—I’m about to—” I stammered. Her pussy was so good.

“Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” she cooed as her hands pressed against my chest. She smiled as if not really here, but caught up in a spell. When I felt her warm eruption again, I lost it as well. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—escape Ava if I wanted to. I grunted as I came. And the monster in my loins lurched free, unfettered of any misgivings or scant reluctance still left in me.

Our bodies pressed together violently as I erupted inside her. My body went limp from the climax as my eyes rolled back in my head. Ava trembled as she let out a low moan. The only person I’d climaxed so hard with before was Dawn. And at this moment, that was questionable.

For what seemed an eternity, neither of us spoke. Trying to allow reason and normal functions to return, I suppose. We were marionettes with cut strings, our bodies forming a naked heap of consumed emotion and spent desires.

Eventually, I found the strength to roll off of her and check the time on my watch. I had to go…even if the guilt hadn’t begun creeping in. Ava opened her eyes, her smile of rabid insanity replaced by that of an angel.

“Stay. I don’t want you to leave,” she said as she dragged a fingernail across my thigh.

“It’s not that simple. I’m married,” I responded, trying to solve the puzzle of where each piece of my clothing lay. My shirt hung partially off the nightstand, draped across a book of Ava’s—
Parallel Univ erses
by Fred Alan Wolf. That stuff was a little heady for me, but different tastes for different people.

“Yes. I recall your saying that before. Right before we fucked…the first time.”

I smiled to acknowledge my appreciation “You?” I asked.

“What?”

“Married?” I asked. Can’t say I’d bothered checking for a wedding ring.

“I was.”

“Was. Divorce?” I sat up as I prepared to get dressed, retrieving my slacks and underwear off the carpet.

“No. I’m a widow. He passed away. Unexpectedly.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that,” I said, lowering my voice. I wondered if he’d shared this very bed with her.

“I wound up here not long afterward.”

“Needed a change of scenery? An escape from the memories?” I asked, pausing from my dressing to take her hand. Made me remember what our client Iris said to Jacobi about sharing therapists with Ava. Maybe it was to help her deal with the grief. Totally understandable.

“No. I didn’t plan it. Coming here was sudden…totally unexpected. I just wanted him back so bad. I never knew what brought me here—or why—until I saw you outside the pub. And I don’t go out much. But it was like something drew me there that night. That’s when it all made sense.”

“So you went to Sam Houston State in Huntsville with me, but you never came to Houston until after your husband died?” I found it odd, but not totally unimaginable. Maybe she was from Dallas or something.

“It’s complicated,” Ava offered, sitting up in the bed. “I’ll share it with you. Maybe when you have more time.” My leaving was still smarting to her. As I looked at this hauntingly beautiful woman, a hollow feeling formed inside at the thought of walking out that door. But I had to. Being here…and doing this, while instinctual and so natural, was wrong.

“Where are you from?” I asked, giving up on trying to remember her from college.

“A little town in Louisiana. Pouppeville.” she answered. Jacobi was at least right about that. She was one of those Louisiana girls.

“Pouppeville? Never heard of it.”

“Yeah. I get that a lot,” she said with a chuckle to herself.

“Can I ask you something else?” I floated while putting my tie back on. It smelled of her as did the rest of my clothes. One of many reasons I never considered cheating on Dawn until now. Too many problems like this to manage.

“Please do. I want you to know me as I know you,” Ava replied. Odd phrasing. Almost as if she’d lived abroad.

“No offense, but am I a rebound or something to make up for your husband?”

She reflected on it for a moment, but calmly answered, “No. You are more than that, Chase. I don’t know how much time I have here. But you are for me. I know it in my heart. If anything, my husband’s death reminded me to not take second chances for granted.”

“Did you love him?”

“With all my heart.”

“Was he an artist too? I’ve been doing some research on Charla Nuttier, but there’s not a lot out there.”

“No,” she replied with a giggle as she rose from the bed. “He was a musician.”

I followed Ava as she boldly bounded, unclothed, down the hallway. I grinned at the jiggle of her ass cheeks and her total comfort with me. “What did he play?” I asked. I knew dwelling on him wasn’t a good thing, but I was putting forth the effort to learn something about her beyond my odd feelings and her being sensational in bed.

“He was a pianist. Famous,” she said, coming to a halt before entering the living room. She turned to look into my eyes. Had to see the surprise in them.

“Wow. I used to play the piano,” I offered, not quite sure why I would volunteer such a thing.

“Do you still play?”

“No,” I answered abruptly. “And I was far from famous. Stopped a long time ago.”

“Why?” she asked, appearing shaken by my admission.

“I have my reasons,” I replied. “Like you said, maybe we’ll talk about it when I have more time.”

“Very well,” Ava said, seemingly satisfied that we’d have other times to ourselves. It pleased me too. She finished walking me to her door, where she held her arms out for a hug. Both of us knew that wasn’t how this would end as I stepped closer. We kissed madly, like glowing schoolkids on a second date, before I pried myself away. She relented, unlocking the front door and stepping aside. I gripped the door frame on my way out and turned to say my formal good-byes.

“When?” she asked, speaking through the space in her door to where passersby couldn’t enjoy the sights I was beholding.

“We’ll see,” I replied, my head swirling as I went about preparing for my trip home.

Back to my car, I called Jacobi.

“What up, man?” he answered.

“Hey. If Dawn asks, we were playing racquetball today after work.”

“So you actually did it, huh?” he responded.

“Yes.”

“How was it?”

“Good,” I replied, understating things after a pause.

“Uh-huh. Why do I get the feeling this is more than a HIQI,” he said, using his infamous acronym for hit-it-and-quit-it situations.

“Dude, responding to that isn’t worth the trouble for either of us.”

“Chase, I love you like a brother, but be careful. This kind of game ain’t for you.”

“Duly noted, sir. And thanks,” I said, ending the conversation.

Her husband played the piano too. Don’t know why that bothered me so much. Probably a different family situation growing up. But life is still about choices. Maybe deep down, I wished that painting Ava had given me had personal significance when it was done. But, anyway, how could she know I used to play the piano? That was something Dawn was oblivious to also.

Ego.

But she’d stroked more than that today anyway
, I thought with a wry smile.

I’d have a lot to consider and assess on my way home, but first I had to shed my clothes and get them to a dry cleaner’s ASAP.